Two Halves Make a Whole
by Saffron465
Summary: This is my fanfic about Harry Potter! It was written for an entry in the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, but I decided to post it anyways! Hope you enjoy!


His face was pale and ashen in his reflection. He couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching him. But that was ridiculous after what had just happened, after all the lives that had been lost. He had watched the life drain out of his brother's eyes, he had felt the pain of losing a loved one. They all had, now. George was tired of it, of bad things happening all the time. _But, I guess, that's just how the world works,_ he thought. He left the room, leaving all the terrible memories behind.

* * *

Molly placed her hand on George's shoulder. Her eyes were red and she was shaking slightly.

"George…" But that was all she said. All she could say. She sat down beside him, and he couldn't handle it. He burst into tears.

"I've tried to be strong. I've tried so hard. I just can't stop thinking about him, Mum. I can't…" his voice melted into uncontrollable sobs. Molly rubbed her hand over her son's back.

"You don't have to be strong. And it's okay to think about him, that's what we all should do. We have to remember him, George. You're doing the right thing. You tried your best. That's all that matters now."

George let himself be carried away in this sense of safety of his mother's reassurance. But he knew that he would have to face the truth soon.

* * *

George was sitting on the couch when he appeared. He heard a small pop, and suddenly a man that looked exactly like his brother was standing in front of him. George jumped to his feet, very confused. The man collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily.

"Fred?" he said, rushing to his brother's side. Fred looked up.

"George? You're George? I'm not-"

"But you were dead! I watched you die…" George trailed off as tears threatened to spill over.

"But I'm not Fred." Fred shook his head slowly, still panting. "I'm George. And I don't know where I am."

* * *

"So, you're telling me that you're from another dimension, and you don't know how to get back? And you're me. Is that right?" George asked, mortified at this confusing story.

"Yes, that's right." The-Other-George sat next to him on the couch, sipping at tea from a warm mug. "The most important thing is that I need help getting back. Is there something you can do to help me?"

"Maybe-" Geoge stopped. Was he really talking to his duplicate from another dimension? Did all his education just go out the window? The-other-George sighed and leaned back into the couch cushions.

"You're thinking this is all fake, aren't you?"

"George, don't be silly. There's no way that anything like this could be possible," he said to himself, placing his head in his hands. "Maybe I spent too much time in the sun…" he glanced outside and noticed, with dismay, that the sky was dark and cloudy with sheets of pouring rain. George let out a long breath he had been holding without realizing.

"Alright, is there any place where we can find information about this sort of thing? You know, weird dimension traveling books, or something like that?" The-other-George asked, gazing out the window, clearly relieved that George had finally realized this wasn't fake.

"Well, there are several book shops in Diagon Alley, so we could search there…" George trailed off, unsure of how to help his twin. Well, himself.

"Sounds great. Let's get to it!" The-other-George stood up quickly and jauntily strode to the door, whistling like he didn't have a care in the world. George scoffed.

"Don't you want to use the Floo?" George turned towards the fireplace. The-other-George scurried back over to him.

"Yep, sorry," he sounded so much like George himself that it was almost scary. They stepped into the fireplace and a blazing green fire engulfed them. The next thing they knew, they were...

* * *

They stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron and walked along the cobbled street. George stopped as he found what he had been looking for.

"There it is, Whizz Hard Books." George gestured towards a small shop tucked in between two dark buildings. The other George looked it over with disgust.

"This is where you're going to help me? This?"

"Yes, and you should be grateful anyone has chosen to help in the first place."

"I'd be surprised if we managed to even find books in there under all that dust."

George punched him in the shoulder. "Of course we will."

The bell on the door jingled merrily as they walked inside. The-Other-George scurried excitedly over to one area of the shop while George strode over to the shop owner. "Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to have any books on alternate dimensions?" The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes. He was a tired looking man with hard cold eyes. "I'm just curious," he added, hurriedly.

"Well… I do have some miscellaneous items over there that you can browse through…" The man gestured to a small pile of books in the corner. George flashed him a thumbs up.

"Great! Thanks!" he hurried over to the stack. Suddenly, a loud crash sounded, and his head snapped up. "What was that?" he shouted, whirling around.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do it!" George noticed a vase lying cracked on the floor. Water was splattered on a run down book underneath it. George Number Two had a sheepish grin and was standing awkwardly to the side. The shopkeeper's face turned bright red.

"You boys better pay for that book and get on out of here. And don't come back!" George glared at his duplicate and picked up the soggy book.

"Here." George handed the man some money, enough to pay for it, and they both exited the store.

* * *

"Of course!" George yelled, sitting up. "You have to go and ruin everything! I didn't think I could be so stupid in another life. You just ruined your chances of getting out of here." The-Other-George seemed defeated.

"But-"

"No! I don't want to hear your excuses. Go find someone else to help you- anyone but me and my family."

"But, just listen to me, I-"

"I said no." George lowered his voice to a dangerous whisper. _What am I doing? This isn't me_, he thought. He had changed since Fred's passing. This wasn't how he usually acted. The other George stared at him with fierce determination dancing in his eyes. _This_ was him. This funny, defiant, strong boy he once had been. But now he'd changed into someone he didn't even know for himself. Someone he didn't want to be.

"The book you just bought is about dimensions. That was what I was trying to say." The-other-George sat there with his arms crossed, his eyes gleaming. George leaned forward.

"Really?" his anger was fading already. "Could I see it?" The-other-George passed George the book, water staining the cover. Luckily, the book was hardback so none of the pages were ruined.

"_The Legacy of Valrun Svendria the Dimension Explorer,_" George read aloud. "This is just creepy. How did we happen to come across this?" he laughed softly and continued to read.

* * *

"We have to do this." George Number Two gestured to the spell they had been pouring over for about an hour. George nodded, still a little unsure. He pulled out his wand.

"Are you sure?" he found suddenly that he was dreading this. He didn't want his friend to leave. He needed him. "Can't we wait till the morning?" Then his friend mustered a sad smile and gently shook his head.

"I have to go, now. I'm sorry."

"But…" George swallowed. "I need you... so I can be better. So I can prove to myself that I'm not broken, not ruined after what happened. You are better than me. You always will be. And I need that."

"George, you are just as good as me. You just need to snap out of this deep darkness you're losing yourself in."

"You say that like it's easy," George muttered.

"Do the spell already!" George Number Two shouted, his carefree spirit warming George's heart, just a little.

"Ok." He held up his wand, his hand trembling slightly. As he spoke the spell, he looked into his own eyes: the eyes of a boy who had seen too much; a boy who had lost but had gotten back up again; the eyes of a boy who was strong, even when he had lost the other half of his soul. The-other-George disappeared into the depths of a void George himself would never see. But someday, someday, they would meet again.

He was sure of it.

**Round 5**

**Team and Position: Chudley Cannons, Beater 2**

**Prompts: **[Emotion] Determination

[Word] Fire

[Dialogue] "Don't look at me, I didn't do it."

[Action] Whistling

[Weather] Cloudy

**Word count: 1,443**


End file.
